I like bars
a habitat best suited for my nature

It's the ambiance, the conviviality
of a communal living room.
No Mr. or Mrs. Anyone, just Joe or Eddie,
or Pops, or Lottie.
Please check all affectations at the door

Relatable music on the box
Lots of sad songs (don't know why that is)
A pool table (almost a must)
No TV (always a plus)
and a small, but decent menu (if you dare)

The starting line-up are
the pro drinkers who can hold their liquor
allowing them to consider
conversation,
or to claim the quiet spot to dwell on
whatever, it's a free country.

And, of course,
the eagle-eyed bartender
keeping tabs on hunched
dim-lit silhouettes;
bar stool veterans;
not much chatter, not much fuss.

A flow of comers and goers
...keepin' it fresh.
Whoa!, this might be a night to remember
Lottie just walked in (she's a pistol, sharp and sassy).

By the way, I don't drink.
Nobody cares.
"Keep them Shirley Temples comin'"
I'm not going anywhere...soon.